Our Results Division

Trade Show ROI

Event marketers and business executives understand that in order to catch the attention of current and potential customers, you have to go to where the audience is gathered. That’s why there are hundreds of trade shows every year attended by thousands of corporate buyers, industry specialists and media outlets.

Finding a custom exhibit design company that produces amazing trade show exhibits is a vital step toward standing out from the crowd. Custom designed exhibits are critical to audience engagement, amplifying brand messages and generating prospects.

However, it’s only the first step. Demonstrating the value of a trade show program to the company’s overall success is the ultimate move for event marketers. Most corporations use some measure of return on investment (ROI) as a part of the decision-making process for strategic and product initiatives. But measuring ROI from a trade show program is typically reduced to just cost per lead – the direct revenue generated from those contacts. A continual improvement measurement plan is far less common often because the process requires a major time commitment from taxed event managers, as well as an internal agreement as to what constitutes meaningful metrics to the organization.

Why Measuring Trade Show ROI is Important

It makes sense that the value of measuring trade show ROI is tremendous, but the challenge for event marketers lies in demonstrating quantifiable results beyond cost per lead. This is especially true when it comes to communicating the total value of a trade show investment to company leaders who expect to see a return on the company’s investment of resources. This is often the case immediately following a trade show, during a company update meeting or when it’s time for quarterly reporting.

Even if management doesn’t ask for metrics initially, it’s likely they will expect justification when budget time arrives. That’s when company executives openly question whether trade shows are a worthwhile investment. When there are little to no metrics available, it becomes easy for management to eliminate what hasn’t been measured.

Conversely, measuring trade show ROI provides event marketers with a way to tangibly show senior executives their accomplishments and the impact their department has on the company’s profitability. Measuring trade show ROI enables event marketers to communicate the true value of their efforts and make the case for continued budget support.

Measuring Results Yields Better Trade Show Marketing Strategies

Measuring trade show ROI results in better trade show marketing strategies through a continual review and improvementprocess. At its core, this measurement strategy seeks to determine whether an investment in a particular trade show brings enough value to the company to justify the expense of exhibiting. Answering this question helps marketers know where to allocate time and financial resources.

To achieve this goal, event marketers can compare results of one trade show to another to evaluate whether the company should participate again next year or book exhibit space at a different event.

In some cases, based on the data, marketing executives may want to reduce the company’s footprint at the next trade show or increase the size of its exhibit space. They may also see the need for a different type of exhibit (custom design, portable, modular).

Measuring trade show ROI can also help executives weigh whether to bring more or less staff to the event next year or leverage other activities at the trade show in order to maximize their participation at the event.

Gathering all of this information makes it easier to consider which annual trade shows generates the most return on investment and enables event marketers to decide how much to budget and spend the following year. Trade shows that produce poor results can be removed from the itinerary and resources can be allocated to the exhibitions that are worth the company’s participation.

Measuring Results Yields Better Exhibit Designs

In addition to getting the marketing team’s accomplishments on the radar with company executives and helping to determine both strategic and budget priorities, measuring trade show ROI also contributes to better exhibit design.

There are a number of factors to consider when it comes time to evaluate how well an exhibit performed at a trade show. Working together, event marketers and custom exhibit design houses can assess the effectiveness of the type and size of the exhibit, the strength of branding messages, space utilization, the pace of traffic flow and ease of customer interactions, and the use of technology and collateral materials.

Metrics that gauge the success of the engagement resulting from the quality of these elements can guide conversations on what could be improved in subsequent exhibits or make clear the need for a custom design environment.

The Results Division at Exhibitus

In order to fully realize the benefits of measuring trade show ROI, it helps to have a partner that understands great design and meaningful metrics. The Results Division at Exhibitus is the place where smart exhibit design meets powerful measurement strategy.

The Results Division offers event marketers and their company leadership access to a well-defined measurement program that collects data on and provides analysis of trade show results.

Working with the Results Division is a vital extension of the collaborative process Exhibitus uses to create stunning custom design environments. The Results Division gets involved early in the design process to help event marketers identify the metrics that are important to their company’s leadership. To achieve this, we examine the total investment made in your presence at a trade show. This includes booth design and fabrication, transportation and set-up cost, exhibit space rental, staff time and travel expenses.

Then, we explore the total value generated by your trade show participation that results in a quantifiable payback ratio. This includes sales produced by leads originated at the trade show, cost savings achieved by salespeople and executives interacting with the concentration of customers and prospects in one location, impressions based on how many times your company brand and products are seen by attendees, and media coverage in industry and business publications.

After gathering all of this valuable data, the Results Division helps you translate this information into a presentation that can be easily understood by company stakeholders. Together, we’ll make it easy for you to communicate the value of your trade show program and demonstrate your ability to produce solid results for your company.

Exhibitus is the only custom exhibit design house with a dedicated Results Division. Contact us today at 800.770.4392 to start measuring what matters.